JAMIE OLIVER at your service

Returning to the set of MasterChef Australia to help steer a path through grief and spread happiness, the celebrity chef is also at a turning point - he opens up about failure, love, second chances and his endless reservoir of joie de vivre.

- GENEVIEVE GANNON

H e’s arguably the world’s biggest celebrity chef and definitely the most exuberant, having risen to fame amid a flash of pans, into which he enthusiastically chucked knobs of herby butter and big, old lugs of olive oil. But we’re barely a minute into our interview and Jamie Oliver’s voice becomes brittle. His familiar face, so often lit up with creative zeal, is taut. The megastar chef has come to Melbourne to shoot season 16 of MasterChef Australia, where the warmly lit cooking arena has had its lights dimmed.

“Yeah, it’s tough,” Jamie, 48, says. “This sort of situation is very rare and it’s very painful. This was an incredibly important year to get right.

We couldn’t get it wrong for obvious reasons. From my point of view I was here to support Andy [Allen, judge] and support the show, and that was it.”

Last year, Jamie spent two days on set filming season 15 of the beloved cooking show. The day before it was due to air, news broke that judge Jock Zonfrillo had died suddenly at the age of 46.

The award-winning Glaswegian chef had been embraced by viewers for his gleefully raffish persona. He wore tailored suits with pocket chains, raved about native ingredients, and was patient and encouraging towards contestants. His screen presence was magnetic and his death was as shocking as it was sad.

The entire series had already been shot and so it aired – with the blessing of Jock’s widow Lauren Fried – as it was. For season 16, the producers had to think hard about how they’d execute a show known for its warmth and constancy with the tragedy still casting a shadow. They called Jamie and he answered. He told them he’d do whatever was needed to help.